About

Smiling in Russia

Published on Nov 7, 2016

I heard a recent story on NPR about a young Russian in the 1980s who was swept up
in the transformation when the Soviet Union dissolved and Russia opened to more Western
companies. A McDonald’s franchise was opening in Moscow. This young man went to get
a job and was accepted into the training program for front-line staff. Early on, trainees
were told to greet customers with a smile. This standard practice in customer service
shocked and frightened our young storyteller. In Russian society at that time, a smile
was interpreted as insincere and even purposefully misleading or malevolent. They
saw Westerners as untrustworthy and a smile as the way we mislead others into thinking
we are happy, sociable, and caring when in fact we are hiding bad intent. Occasionally,
of course, a smile can be fake, but when most of us smile, we feel happy, sociable,
and caring.

It struck me that, to this day, I and other Westerners have not understood that basic
cultural differences can relate to something as simple as smiling. Russians would
not understand the currency of a smile as, yes, I am approachable and want to help
you—and that as a front-line worker in the West, it would be useful to you. It certainly
explains the stereotypical demeanor of peoples from other cultures who have seemed
overly stern and solemn. Imagine how many times this still happens when we are unaware
of the gender, cultural, ethnic, or racial differences. And instead we ascribe motives
to others that may be completely wrong. As we deal with the difficult work of social
change and preparing for increasing international connections, I guess we better understand
that each of us has both individual and cultural perspectives—and that they are different
for each of us. At BCTC, we are trying to understand, acknowledge, and celebrate our
differences. Know that we are working together to use all our talents to meet students
and others educational needs. Let’s try to communicate and understand each other.